Mother ‘lives in fear’ after social workers took her baby

CHILD protection workers at a beleaguered Yorkshire council have been criticised by a mother whose baby daughter was wrongly taken into care just minutes after her birth.
Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah YoungAbove: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young
Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young

Kelly McWilliams said she now “lives in fear of a knock on the door” after social workers took tiny Victoria away from her when they arrived unannounced at a maternity unit.

Mrs McWilliams, 36, was in labour when the two social workers first told her what would happen, and two hours after the birth they removed Victoria, saying it was for her protection.

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The social workers were from Doncaster Council, which has in recent years been severely criticised for its “chaotic” approach, including its dealings with the cases of seven children who died.

Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah YoungAbove: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young
Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young

At present the council is being run under Government intervention, partly as a result of the 2009 Edlington attacks in which two young brothers in social services care attacked two other boys.

Late last year the authority was told by Government watchdog Ofsted its efforts to improve services for youngsters were continuing to fail, and Ms McWilliams’s revelations are a new blow.

The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service has criticised the authority’s approach to the case.

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Victoria was only returned to Mrs McWilliams after four months, during which time she was only allowed to see her for two hours three times a week, under social services supervision.

Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah YoungAbove: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young
Above: Kelly McWilliams and daughter Victoria. Below: solicitor Sarah Young

Now mother and daughter are reunited, and Victoria, a happy, healthy 18-month-old, has no recollection of what her mother described as the “terrible trauma” the family suffered.

Mrs McWilliams said she had decided to break her silence over what her lawyer called a “horrifying bungle” in August 2011 because people should know mistakes were still being made.

She has four other children, and although she had mental health issues and suffered a stroke several years ago, said there was no reason for the council to intervene.

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Speaking at her home in Stanley Road, Scawthorpe, Doncaster, yesterday, she added: “I had gone into labour and two social workers very coldly came in and said they were taking my baby.

“I couldn’t believe it at first, I really thought it was some kind of joke, but when I asked why, they just said: ‘because you’re not well’.”

Mrs McWilliams had suffered depression five years earlier and had mentioned this to a midwife who had made social services aware early in her pregnancy.

But nobody from the council contacted her about this until the day she was giving birth, when the authority applied for an interim care order, allowing Victoria to be removed.

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At this point, Mrs McWilliams was forced to call a solicitor from hospital, who arranged for Victoria to be placed in the care of her father, who lives apart from his former partner.

In a report written by the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service after the case in February 2012, the council was also criticised.

The report, which was revealed yesterday, said: “There was no pre-birth assessment or initial case conference commissioned by the local authority in this matter.

“Had there been, these proceedings may not have been initiated.”

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Mrs McWilliams is unable to claim compensation for her ordeal because no harm came to the baby as a result of what she called the council’s “heavy-handed” approach.

“There’s not a penny in it for me, but people need to know what Doncaster social services are like, because they make mistake after mistake but they are not paying for it,” she added.

“I feel very, very angry and very, very let down because I had overcome my mental health problems and was in a very good place and I was feeling proud and ready to be a mother.

“Then all of a sudden this came along and crushed me. I am trying to put it all behind me but I lost precious time with my daughter, I missed her first smile, I missed so much.”

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Mrs McWilliams’s solicitor, Sarah Young of Huddersfield-based Ridley and Hall, said her client had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of her ordeal.

But she said this was not grounds to claim for compensation and added: “This is a clear case of a local authority wrongfully taking a child away from her parents, given the lack of social services involvement before the birth.

“My fear is that because it is Victoria’s mother who has suffered, no remedy will be available.”

Mrs Young also dealt with the case of Warren Jobling, one of the seven children to die in the care of the council, in 2009. She said Mrs McWilliams’s story came as no surprise.

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She added: “At that time it was clear that Doncaster social services was in crisis.

“Nothing seems to have changed and I believe that if radical steps are not taken, soon there will be another tragedy.”

Chris Pratt, Director of the Children and Young People’s Service, said: “It is inappropriate for us to comment on cases involving individual children. However, when any matter of concern is raised with me I do ask for this to be examined and I have done that in this case.”